Cabinet



Dec. 5, i944. E. c. wElsKoPF 2,364,409

INVENTOR. Eownv C. WElsnoPF BYM \ H/s ATTORNEY E. C. wElsKoPF CABINET Filed sept. 9, 1942 l2 sheets-sheet 2 mi A IN VEN TOR. E l5" UPF Hls ATTORNEY EDWIN C. W

vH'Mn-I Dec. 5, 1944.

Patented Dec. 5, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT ol-FicEl CABINET Edwin C. Weiskopf, New York, N. Y.

Application September 9, 1942, Serial No. 457,766

Claims. y

The present invention relates to filing means such as filing cabinets and is intended primarily to be used as means foriiling a multiplicity of slides, such as for example those utilized in connection with microscopes, usually for biological and bacteriological purposes. For convenience in reference, slides of this character when hereinafter referred to will be termed` micro-slides.

One object of the present invention is the provision of means for the ling of micro-slidesof various sizes in such manner that a single cabinet or cabinet section is useful :for filing a variablelarge number of slides of different sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for economically filing a maximum number of slides in a minimum space in a highly flex- I ing a plurality of drawers and for holding said drawers against vertical movement thereof and in such manner that the drawers can be withdrawn from the chamber a` substantial distance without danger of the drawers dropping or being accidentally disengaged from said holding means in the chamber. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a filing cabinet which can be advantageously made of wood or other nonmetall-ic material, while at the same time being of such construction that it can be made of metal if so desired.

A yet further object 0f the invention is generally to provide a cabinet which is adapted to be used advantageously for the filing and storing of microslides.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention'will be more fully understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a multi-section cabinet embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a drawer removed from the cabinet;

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 showing a narrow drawer for filing narrower slides;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a drawer for storing the narrower slides;

Fig 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on Fig. 3; I

Fig. 7 is a bottom view of the narrow drawer;

the line 6-6 of Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1, the drawers being removed;

Fig. 9 isa fragmentary verticalsectional view on the line 5)-9 of'Fig. 8 showing the drawers in position.`

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is shown in Fig. 1 a cabinet I0 of the sectional type, 'there being a plurality of receptacle or frame sections I2 mounted in superimposed relation on abase Ill. Said cabinet is preferably made of wood, although it can be made of metal or other suitable material, and all of said sections I2 are preferably of the'same construction so that they can be mounted interchangeably one upon another. For this purpose, the bottom Iii of one section 'is provided on its under surface with a recess I8 `(Fig. 9) and the top of said section has a main raised part 20 which ts said recess, said part 2i] being spaced inwardly from the opposite sides and front and back' of said section, providing a peripherally extending shoulder 22 which lies adjacent to and may even carry part of the weight of the sections thereabove, the lower edges 24 of the side, front and rear walls of the section next above preferably extending to said peripherally marginal edge 22. It will be understood that a cabinet may consist of a single section I2 or of a plurality of'such sections.

Eachsection I2 is provided with a front opening 26 which extends for the full width of said section between the opposite side walls 28 thereof. The bottom wall I6 of each section I2 is provided with a plurality of laterally spaced members 3B secured thereto in any suitable way as by glue and/or tacks. `Said members 30 extend longitudinally of the companion section in a direction running rearwardly from the front opening 26 of said section to the rear wall 32 thereof. Said members 30 are T-shaped in cross section, and each has a vertical rib 32 and an upper cross rib 34 extending laterally beyond both sides of said vertical rib 32. Adjacent to the side walls 28, the members 30A are provided, one adjacent each side wall, said member 30A being constituted by one half of a member 30 and therefore having an inverted L-shaped cross section. Said members 30 are spaced uniformly laterally of section I2 and it will be understood that those members 3i] which are adjacent the side members 30A are spaced from the latter the same distance as they are spaced from each other. Said members 3E] and 30A form a Aplurality of laterally spaced guideways 36 of uniform width and configuration of the cross sectional shape illustrated in Fig. 9.

Asillustrated in Fig. 1 a plurality of drawers of dierent widths are received within a frame or cabinet section I2, the latter providing a housing chamber for said drawers. -Thus as-illustrated in Fig. 1, the top section I2 is provided with a plu-` rality of drawers 38, each of one narrow width, a wider drawer 40 and a yet wider drawer 42 for receiving micro-slides of corresponding widths. As will be hereinafter described more in detail, each of said drawers is Iprovided with members which are received in the guideways and which are held by members and 30A against substantial lateral or vertical movement, said drawers being slidably mounted in the companion cabinet section and being preferably wholly removable from said section. It will be understood that when the drawers are partially extended from the housing section as indicated in the case of drawer in the second section'l2 from the top of the cabinet, said drawers are held against downward movement under the weight of the drawer and/or the contents thereof. The drawers are preferably made of wood and their constructions will now be more particularly described.

The drawer 42 illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5 is one of the wider drawers intended for the ling therein of the wider slides. Said drawer comprises the opposite side walls 44 provided with a multiplicity of longitudinally spaced vertical grooves 46 for receiving the micro-slides. Said side walls are secured to a bottom wall 48 and to the front and rear walls 50 and 52, respectively, the opposite ends of said side walls having portions of reduced thickness which are received in the grooves 54 of said walls 50 and 52. It will be understood that said Walls 44, 48, 50 and 52 may be secured to each other in any suitable way as by glue and/or tacks (not shown). The top edges of side walls 44 terminate below the top of end walls and 52 in order that the slides may be easily visible. The bottom of drawer 42 is provided with a plurality of laterally spaced longitudinally extending guide members 56, each of said members being of inverted T-shape in cross section, having a vertical rib 58 and a lateral cross portion or rib 6l). As illustrated in Fig. 9, members 56 slidably engage laterally spaced members 30, and it will be noted that the cross portion of each member 66 underlies the laterally projecting parts of the cross ribs 34 of an adjacent pair of members 33, the vertical rib 58 of member 56 fitting between the confronting edges of adjacent laterally projecting portions of cross ribs 34 and cross portion 60 of member 56 fitting slidably in the space between the confronting side surfaces of adjacent ribs 32 of said adjacent pair of members 30. The front wall 50 of the drawer extends below the bottom wall 48 and is received in front opening 26 for covering the front ends of guideway forming members 38 and 38A. Also said front wall is provided with a handle or knob portion 55.

Referring now to one of the narrower drawers 38 illustrated more particularly in Figs. 1, 3 and 7, it will be observed that said drawer 38 comprises the opposite vertical grooved side walls 62 secured to the front and rear walls 64 and 66, respectively, and to the bottom wall 68. Said front and rear walls 64 and 66 are as here shown of T-shaped cross section and the opposite ends of said side walls are secured to the central rib portion of said front and rear walls, respectively. A guide member 56A of the same con struction as the guide member 56 previously described in connection with drawer 42, is secured to the bottom wall 68 of drawer 38 and extends longitudinally for substantially the full length thereof extending from the inner surface of front wall 64. As drawer 38 is very narrow be,"

ing only about an inch and a half wide between the outer surfaces of the side walls 62, only one guide rail 56A is necessary. The front wall 64 is extended downwardly as in the case of the front wall 50 of drawer 42 for covering the front ends of the guide members 30. Also as here shown, said front wall is provided with a knob 55A.

In Fig. 4 a narrow drawer 38A is illustrated. This drawer is of the same construction as drawer 38 except that the opposite side walls 62A are not provided with vertical slide-receiving grooves, since the drawer 38A is intended for the storage of slides of the width which are normally iled in a. drawer such as drawer 38 and for storage purposes it is not necessary to position the slides in the drawer within spacing grooves which, in the case of a filing drawer such as the drawer 38 or 42, afford visibility of the slides so that the desired slides can be more easily identified. By eliminating the vertical grooves, a larger number of slides can be stored in drawer 38A than can be led in the filing drawer 38. The drawer 40 which is wider than drawer 38 but which is narrower than drawer 32, is preferably of the same construction as drawer 42 and the illustration of the latter in Figs. 2 and 5 will serve as an illustration of the construction of drawer 40.

One of the features of the present invention resides in the relationship between the guidef way-forming means 38 (and 30A) to the guide rails 56 or 56A and to the lateral spacing of the guide rails 56 on the wider drawers 40 and 42 so that one of said wider drawers may fit within a space taken up by a plurality of narrower drawers. Thus, for example, when drawer 42 is removed from the top section I2, four narrower drawers 38 will fit within the space previously occupied by said drawer 42, or conversely a drawer 42,may be placed anywhere in section I2 within a space otherwise occupied by four drawers 38. Similarly drawer 40 can be placed at any point laterally of a section I2 when room is made therefor by the removal of other drawers. For this purpose, the over-all width of the drawers differ from each other by an integer multiple, and in the case of the drawers which are provided with a plurality of laterally spaced guide rails 56, as in the case of drawers 40 and 42, for example, the distance between said guide rails 56 will correspond to the distance between the guideways 30 in which said guide rails 56 are arranged to be received. As ordinarily only two laterally spaced guide rails are necessary and l since each cabinet section I2 is provided with a sufficient number of guide members 30 (and 30A) so that all of the drawers received in Said section may be of the narrowest width, certain of the guideways need not receive guide rails 56 when the wider drawers are placed within any cabinet section. It will be understood that the drawers may be placed interchangeably in any selected way in various sections of the cabinet and that one section may have only the narrowest drawers or only the widest drawers therein, while another 'section may have drawers of different widths depending upon the widths of the slides and the number of slides of the various widths to be filed or stored in the cabinet. Also it will be noted that the microslides may be filed or stored directly in the drawers, and that it is unnecessary to utilize slidereceptacles as inserts in the drawers. The slidecontaining drawers may be withdrawn from the cabinet and removed to any convenient point for handling or exposure in the microphone. It will be understood also that the cabinet or any section thereof may be used for filing or storing other slides (such as, for example, lantern slides), cards, etc., and that when the wider drawers are used for filing cards, the side walls thereof need not be provided with the slide-receiving grooves.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be 10 understood that the later may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically shown or described and that in the illustrated embodiment certain changes in the details of construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made. l5 Accordingly, I do not wish to be limited to the invention as herein specifically illustrated or described except to the extent which may be required by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cabinet comprising a frame having a bottom provided with a plurality of guides extending longitudinally in a direction running from the front to the rear of said frame, said guides being spaced laterally of each other, said frame having a front opening, and a plurality of drawers arranged horizontally in side by side relation in said frame and individually movable into and out of said frame through said opening and each provided at the bottom thereof with cooperating guide means slidably engageable with any one of said guides for holding the drawer in position laterally of the frame, at least one of said drawers being wider than others of said drawers, said guides being laterally spaced fr-om each other at uniform distances and the guide means on the bottoms of said drawers being so related that any one of said drawers can be slidably engaged with ahy one of said guides and the guide means of said wider drawer comprising a plurality of laterally spaced parts positioned to engage a plurality of said guides whereby the guide means of drawers of widths which differ from each other by an integer multiple are slidably engageable with any of said guides within spaces wide enough to permit the insertion of said drawers, respectively, through said opening.

2. In a cabinet comprising a frame having a housing chamber provided with a front opening and a plurality of drawers mounted in said chamber for individual longitudinal movement therein through said opening, at least one of said drawers being wider than another of said drawers, said drawers being positioned in side by side relation, interengaging means on the bottom of said chamber and on the bottoms of said drawers for guiding said drawers for said movements thereof and for preventing lateral and vertical movement thereof, said means comprising laterally spaced longitudinally extending guide members positioned at the bottom of said chamber and up-r standing therefrom and provided with lateral projections spaced upwardly from said bottom, said lateral projections extending in opposite directions from the companion guide members, respectively, and defining a plurality of laterally spaced longitudinal guideways, and longitudinal members carried by said drawers at the bottoms thereof and movable in said guideways, respectively, said last mentioned members having oppositely directed lateral projections extending under the lateral projections of adjacent guide members for preventing substantial downward movement of the drawers when the latter are partially withdrawn from said chamber through said opening, said wider drawer carrying longitudinal members laterally spaced Asuch a distance that they are engageable in a plurality of said guideways.

3. A cabinet comprising a frame having a housing chamber provided with a front opening,

said chamber`having a bottom support, means carried by said support and upstanding therefrom providing said support with a plurality of guideways extending in a direction running rearwardly from said front opening, said guideways being laterally spaced from each other at uniform distances, and a plurality of drawers mounted in said chamber for movement in said chamber and through said front opening, said drawers having means depending from the bottoms thereof, respectively, positioned in said guideways and movable longitudinally thereof, said last mentioned means and said guideways cooperating to prevent substantial lateral or vertical movement of said drawers, respectively, several of said drawers being of the same width and at least one of said drawers being wider than said drawers of the same width, said means on the bottom of said wider drawer comprising laterally spaced members positioned to engage in two of said guideways in lieu of the engagement therein of said depending means of Atwo of said narrower drawers.

4. A cabinet comprising a frame having a housing chamber provided with a front opening, said chamber having a bottom support, means carried by said support and upstanding therefrom providing said support with a plurality of guideways extending in a direction running rearwardlyr from said front opening, said guideways beingl laterally spaced from each other at uniform distances, and a plurality of drawers mounted in said chamber for movement in said chamber and through said front opening, said drawers having means positioned in said guideways and movable longitudinally thereof, said last mentioned means and said guideways cooperating to prevent substantial lateral movement of said drawers, respectively, several of said drawers being of the same width and at least one of said drawers being wider than said drawers of the same width, said means on said wider drawer comprising members positioned to engage in two of said guideways in lieu of the engagement therein of said means of two of said narrower drawers.

5. A cabinet comprising a frame having a housing chamber provided with a front opening, said chamber having a bottom support, means carried by said support and upstanding therefrom providing said support with a plurality of guideways extending in a direction running rearwardly from said front opening, said guideways being laterally spaced from each other at uniform distances, and a plurality of drawers mounted in said chamber for movement in said chamber and through said front opening, and means carried by said drawers engageable in said guideways, respectively, for preventing substantial vertical movement of said drawers in said chamber, said drawers being of different widths and said means carried by a wider drawer comprising spaced parts positioned to engage in a plurality of said guideways in lieu of the engagement therein of said drawer-carried means of a plurality of narrower drawers.'

EDWIN C. WEISKOPF. 

